This weekend is one of my favorite events of the year to do with my kids - the Timpanogous Storytelling Festival.  It is two days of great storytellers, being up in the canyon, eating picnics, late cool nights, watching people do pottery, juggling and musicians playing.  Mostly though it is just a quiet weekend of me and my kids hanging out and enjoying being together.  And for the first time ever I made it through this weekend event without yelling or taking tylenol.  I chalk it up to older kids and buying ice cream Saturday afternoon.
This year I got to go up with Allison's school class on a fieldtrip for a storytelling "teaser" on Thursday.  (And as a side note I was proud of Allison.  Her "buddy" for the day decided to dessert her for a different friend at the beginning of the trip.  Allison just shrugged and said I would be her buddy for the morning and she played with other friends instead.  6th grade girl friendships require some thick skin.)  And then on Friday I checked out the girls from school after math to come spend the day at the Festival with me.  Spencer sadly can't miss school anymore but he and Jeremy brought us dinner that evening and then Spencer stayed with us for the evening show.  Jeremy enjoys the festival in small amounts so he spends the weekend doing his own projects and running us supplies.

Saturday we spent all day from early morning to late at night soaking up the festival and having a great time.  Taylor even really enjoys it.  Luckily Saturday was a little cooler only maybe 90 degrees so it was easier for everyone to stay happy.  And as a side note the wheelchair accessible porta potties are NOT really wheelchair accessible and are at least 100 degrees inside.  But we made it work and then that night Taylor waited till the last big performance where they sat us at the front of the pavilion to have a blow-out.  I couldn't leave so I just mentally apologized to all sitting with smelling distance and stuck it out till I could change him in the car.  There is nothing like disassembling a wheelchair in the dark parking lot with random bits of poop stuck here and there to make you question whether laxatives really need to be part of Taylor's regime.

Saturday I gave each kid $10 and said that is for lunch and any treats.  Robyn had ice cream, a cinnamon roll and a bowl of watermelon for lunch and thought life was great. 

Thursday Spencer had back to school night and showed Jeremy around his school and introduced him to his teachers.  Of course a camera came along:

Spencer is still enjoying junior high and seminary.  He comes home with new scriptures or ideas he has learned and has been excited to dive into homework.  We have been finally getting around to putting together a rocket he got for Christmas.

Jeremy was released today as ward missionary leader and has been busy with his new calling.  This week he got to go do photos off the church office building.

On Monday I met with the gastroentologist for Taylor.  He gave us a new regime to try.  He also brought up the suggestion of doing a surgery where they put a permanent tube like a g-tube that comes out on the side under the ribs and connects to the top of the intestines.  Then we can do an enema from the top down through the tube every week.  I am not such a fan of this but its nice to know its an option.  So we are going to try some of the new things he suggests and see how he does.  He has been really happy still and is laughing a lot more.

On Wednesday I went for a beautiful bike ride with my friend Christie and for part of the time Brooke.  It was gorgeous up Provo canyon.  I couldn't figure out why I had such a hard time keeping up and then I realized my back tire kept going flat.  It was a slow flat so Christie kept pumping it up for me every 20 minutes and then it totally went flat.  So I changed it.  Always a pain.  And then my tire blew.  So Jeremy nicely came to pick my hot, tired, exasperated self up in his truck.  I was laughing at myself because I was praying for God's help to change my back tire.  Instead of making it easy, he sent probably 10 people to stop and ask if they could help.  And of course I just kept saying, "no I am fine but thanks".  I am sure he was shaking his head at my stubbornness.

I made salsa this week from our garden.  Our house reeked of peppers.  Every year we try a different recipe as we have yet to make one that causes Jeremy to rave yes this is the one.  Throw in a little babysitting and it seemed like a full week.  So I am glad to have a normal week coming up (knock on wood) to do things like clean bathrooms and start on the back log of cleaning from the summer.